Breaking It Down: Bellator 68

You’re likely not in Atlantic City right now, but if you are, RUN, not walk, to the Caesars Hotel and Casino to score some tickets for tonight’s Bellator 68. You will not be disappointed… or maybe you will, I don’t know, I don’t even know you. Regardless, it’s time for another Bellator event, and with it comes another breakdown of the fights. I was noticeably absent, well, nearly absent, last week, but I’m back this week with a full preview of the card. Read the words below, and in case of a nuclear meltdown, print it out and take it into the bomb shelter with you.

Let’s get down to business, shall we?

Don Carlo-Clauss (8-6) vs. Jacob Kirwan (9-4)

The New York based bearded wonder, Carlo-Clauss looks for his second straight win in his Bellator debut. Unfortunately for him, he takes on “The Hunter”. Although he lost his last bout, Kirwan showed how tenacious he can be and his grappling-heavy attack will be too much for the New Yorker.

Winner – Jacob Kirwan defeats Don Carlo-Clauss via Submission Round 2

Marcin Held (12-2) vs. Derrick Kennington (6-2)

20-year old Polish fighter Held returns to the Bellator cage for the first time since a controversial November victory over Phillipe Nover. The well-rounded youngster has a lot of hype behind him. His opponent, the grappling-friendly Kennington, hasn’t been really tested yet in his career and this bout should be just that. However, I doubt he’ll be exiting the cage with an “A+” in tow.

Winner – Marcin Held defeats Derrick Kennington via TKO Round 1

Claudio Ledesma (6-2) vs. Anthony Leone (10-5)

Renzo Gracie-trained Ledesma looks for his second Bellator victory and third straight overall. The Ring of Combat veteran is a solid bantamweight and if he keeps up his string of victories, he could very well find himself in the next 135-pound tournament. He takes on former Strikeforce/WEC fighter Leone. While he hasn’t had much luck in his last few bouts, going 2-5 in his last seven, the Team Bombsquad fighter possesses some good ground skills, and of his ten victories half of them have come by submission. I see the bad luck continuing for Leone, as Ledesma will likely roll through him.

Winner – Claudio Ledesma defeats Anthony Leone via Unanimous Decision

Francois Ambang (1-3-1) vs. Gregory Milliard (2-2)

I’m just not going to even bother talking about this fight, simply because, it does not interest me in the slightest. Prelims, postlims, whatever, sometimes, I just don’t want to bother watching a fight and this is one of them. I kind of like Milliard though, as he beat up one-time Strikeforce fighter (and registered sex offender Brandon Saling), so there’s that.

Looking to rebound from two straight losses, Crazy 88 BJJ fighter Nsang makes his Bellator debut tonight. The skilled grappler may lack consistency, but he’s a hell of a fighter as shown in his five Ring of Combat appearances. He takes on “Chavo”, a Semper Fi MMA product, who may be best known for being destroyed by Karl Amoussou back in November. I suspect this bout is fairly exciting, but I don’t see any other likely result than a decision win, likely for Martinez.

Winner – Jesus Martinez defeats Aung La Nsang via Unanimous Decision

Marius Zaromskis (16-6 1 NC) vs. Waachim Spiritwolf (9-9-1 1 NC)

After a false start in their initial bout, former DREAM welterweight champ Zaromskis finally gets to go toe to toe with Spiritwolf. Spiritwolf is a scrapper who leaves it all in the cage whenever he fights. Zaromskis is a technically proficient striker, who has some nasty kicks, the kind of kicks that remove ears from heads.

I expect this to be an awesome opening to the televised card, with the more technically skilled fighter, Zaromiskis, taking home the TKO win.

Winner – Marius Zaromskis defeats Waachim Spiritwolf via TKO Round 3

Carmelo Marrero vs. Seth Petruzelli

In what will likely be my favorite fight of the night, the Kimbo Slice-slayer Petruzelli looks for his second straight Bellator victory after he murdered Ricco Rodriguez in August. Going up against him is the crafty grappler, Marrero. Marrero is a handful for anybody on the ground and is notoriously difficult to finish.

This bout is kind of a toss-up. Petruzelli has disgusting power and can end a fight quickly, but tends to slow down as the fight goes on. Marrero is generally able to throw down throughout the full fifteen minutes and is moving down in weight slightly, for this catch-weight bout, whereas Seth is moving up, so there will be a bit of a size difference. The smart money is on Marrero getting the submission and that’s where mine is as well.

Galvão is a man on a mission after all the BS decision losses he’s suffered. He is very clearly out for blood as we saw when he took out Ed West in the quarterfinals. Marx shocked many when he defeated Masakatsu Ueda in his last bout. He has some serious wrestling chops and can easily grind out a decision.

Marx has a clear cut path to victory, and that is take Galvão down and lay on top of him. Having said that, Galvão is a Nova Uniao black belt who also possesses some serious striking ability. He will be too much for Marx to handle, and he’ll be booking his ticket to the finals.

Sandro is ready for revenge and the last thing standing in his way is Straus. Sandro, long considered one of the best featherweights in the world, enters his second tournament final bout, and hopes this time things go his way. after coming up short last season. Straus, the solid wrestler, has had a hard road to the finals in taking out Jeremy Spoon and Mike Corey, both via decision. Straus also enters his second tournament final, and much like Sandro he believes tonight is his night.

Only one man can take home the Bellator tournament crown and become the #2 contender in the division. That man will be Sandro. His loss to Pat Curran will not haunt him much longer, as he will use his technical striking, violent power, and excellent grappling abilities to stifle to the attacks of Straus en route to a late stoppage or decision victory.

Winner – Marlon Sandro defeats Daniel Straus via Unanimous Decision

You all know the drill by now. As always, Bellator airs live on Spike.com at 7:00 PM EST with some preliminary bouts with the main card going live at 8:00 on MTV 2, TheScore.com in Canada, or on Spike.com. Tune in early so Jimmy Smith and Sean Wheelock can call you hardcore fans.